Note: All applicants are required to mandatorily fill the complete online Application form including the employment, educational details, behavioural and technical/ professional skills questions. We will be thoroughly reviewing the application forms only with all the required details and the shortlisting is not basis CV/ cover letter. Forms that are incomplete in any respect will not be considered while shortlisting for the next stage.

Main purpose of job:

BHC Islamabad is looking to recruit a suitably qualified and experienced Governance Adviser. This position is open externally and internally to Country Based Staff on promotion and level transfer who have demonstrated the required technical competencies and experience.

The work of the British High Commission (BHC) in Pakistan is focused on six main workstreams – Regional Stability, Threats, Health and education, Climate, Resilience and Humanitarian, Open Societies, and Economy and Trade. 

This role sits within the Governance and Institutions Group in BHC Islamabad (BHCI), also known as CG5. The Group has a £91m portfolio. It leads policy & programmes at the federal and sub-national levels relating to governance and effective institutions (e.g. public sector management, PFM, local governance); and gender and social inclusion (women and girls, children, transgenders, religious minorities gender & disability) as well as civic space and media freedom. Within CG5, this position will sit under Governance, Reforms & Institutions Team (GRIT), who lead on a £42m portfolio including two programmes a) Sub-National Governance (SNG II) Programme b) National Governance Programme (NGP)

CG5 is a top performing unit, that offers an attractive and rewarding work environment and the opportunity to support strategic and high-impact governance reforms in Pakistan. The GRIT team provides highly strategic cross-cutting governance advice to teams across the BHC in the areas of growth, climate adaptation and resilience, human capital, and security. GRIT leads much of the BHC’s interaction with key government stakeholders, especially in the bureaucracy (e.g. Finance Department, Planning and Development) at both federal and provincial levels and in this role, you can expect to frequently engage with senior interlocutors across government.

CG5 prides itself on working together in a positive team environment, prioritising learning, professional development and career progression, and providing flexibility to deliver results at pace on high-profile priorities while maintaining work-life balance.

We reserve the right to review, revise or amend the roles and responsibilities from time to time reflecting the changing needs of business.

Roles and responsibilities that a jobholder will be expected to achieve:

This is an exciting opportunity to join the Open Societies and Effective Institutions Group. The position is a technical leadership role. The successful candidate will be contributing to BHC’s leadership on governance, accountability, and state capability.

FCDO advisers help identify, generate, and utilize the best evidence, knowledge, technology and ideas to improve the effectiveness and impact of the UK’s development programmes and policies. Advisers have a key role in programme design, management and evaluation, and in influencing the broader development and implementation of policy – for FCDO and across HMG. They should have strong links with development networks, decision makers, political and bureaucratic actors, research organisations and professional bodies both in Pakistan and internationally.

Governance is about how a country manages its affairs, including how power and resources are acquired, managed and distributed. It is about political relations, management of resources, and bargaining processes amongst elites and between the elites and different social interests. Effective governance requires state capability to get things done, accountability to citizens, and responsiveness to citizens’ needs and rights. There is no standard recipe for improving governance and the evidence shows that technical fixes alone do not work. This means our approach should be tailored to local context and informed by rigorous analysis of the underlying political-economy and related constraints and opportunities.

The successful candidate will be an experienced governance professional with a strong understanding of, and demonstrated ability to apply, core governance concepts, evidence, policy, and practice to a range of issues in Pakistan. You will be expected to:

• Provide high quality, reliable, timely and relevant governance analysis and advice to FCDO programmes and policies, in the key technical competency areas listed below. This includes commissioning and quality assuring political economy and institutional analysis.
• Design, manage, and lead clearly defined programmes or programme components in CG5, and contribute governance expertise to other programmes across the BHC
• Maintain and leverage strong links to key BHC counterparts in governance, especially federal and provincial bureaucracies (e.g. Finance, Planning and Development, Prime Minister’s Office), civil society, and academics to inform the BHC governance, and wider development, portfolio.
• Engage with international partners to strengthen coordination of governance support in Pakistan (UN system, World Bank, IMF, bilateral development partners, NGOs and civil society) working on the governance areas listed below.
• Working as integral part of the governance team in BHC Islamabad, to contribute to the BHC’s understanding of the bureaucratic and institutional context in Pakistan through regular engagement and analysis, helping to inform wider priorities on growth, human capital, climate, and security as relevant.
• Working as integral part of the governance team in BHC Islamabad, to contribute to the BHC’s understanding of the bureaucratic and institutional context in Pakistan through regular engagement and analysis, helping to inform wider priorities on growth, human capital, climate, and security as relevant.
• Engage actively with FCDO’s broader governance agenda, including by providing regular and high-quality technical governance inputs to policy and strategy and sharing learning across the Governance cadre and Network.

You will be skilled at seeing the big picture and have a strong grounding in understanding and applying key governance analysis tools such as political economy analysis, institutional analysis, power mapping, or functional analysis etc. You will be able to proactively identify ways in which governance can add value to wider BHC objectives in Pakistan, particularly through your understanding of the bureaucracy in Pakistan, and you will be able to spot opportunities in other BHC agendas to progress governance outcomes around state capability, accountability and responsiveness.   We are looking for someone with a demonstrated ability to build relationships with a broad range of actors and networks, an excellent ability to communicate and influence effectively with stakeholders beyond their own team, and an ability to tailor technical governance ideas and concepts to non-technical/non-governance audiences.

The key technical areas relevant for this position are:

• Applied Governance and Political Economy Analysis, understanding governance evidence, policy, and practice in a range of settings and apply both political and institutional analysis to inform policy direction, deliver plans, advice, and programming decisions.
• Inclusive Growth and Economic Development: Demonstrate knowledge of institutional and political barriers and drivers for inclusive growth and economic development. Influence and provide support to economic development work in a range of settings.
• Public Sector Governance and Service Delivery, in particular role and value-add of governance to priority agendas such as climate change, health, or gender.
• Public Financial Management and Domestic Revenue Mobilisation: Understand the role of public financial management and domestic revenue mobilisation in development, accountability, and state-building processes. Advise, influence policy direction and programme leadership on PFM and revenue mobilisation, working with HMG, country, and international partners.

The successful candidate will be expected to accredit to the governance cadre at expert level meaning you need to demonstrate experience and understanding against all four of the above listed competencies. Please take the time to refer to the Governance Technical Competency Framework  for further information on each of the above technical competency areas.

Resources managed (staff and expenditure)

1. No line management responsibilities presently, but with future opportunities possible.
2. Portfolio responsibilities depending on applicant’s experience and BHC strategy.

Language requirements:

• Language: English, Urdu
• Level of language required: Urdu

Working patterns:

Full Time. 41 gross hours per week

Learning and development opportunities:

The FCDO is committed to providing formal and informal learning and development opportunities for its staff. Internal and external learning and development opportunities will be available as per agreement with the line manager. This could include:

• Formal in-house and external training
• Attendance at regular Governance Cadre learning events, including international conferences and national events.
• Coaching, mentoring and job shadowing led by the Senior Governance Adviser

Any other information (or specific local Post requirements):

This role is based in Islamabad, Pakistan.

FCDO Pakistan would like to fill this role as soon as possible. If you would like to find out more about the role, please feel free to write at SAAD.Recruit@fcdo.gov.uk

Essential on arrival:

• Advanced degree (Masters) in governance, public policy, economics, or similar relevant discipline.
• At least 8 years of full-time relevant professional experience, with demonstrated experience in research or applied work on institutional strengthening
• Demonstrated expertise on the four technical competencies listed above.
• High level of influencing skills
• Ability to provide succinct, well written political analysis of complex issues
• Experience working with government and an understanding of the political operating environment
• Ability to work cross-mission in a collaborative manner
• Excellent oral and written communication skills
• Ability to prioritise workload and respond flexibly as new priorities arise
• Ability to engage effectively, at a senior level, with a range of Pakistan Government Officials (federal and provincial), civil society as well as bilateral and multilateral partners
• Experience of leading or working on programs